BX23 dumb question on Backhoe 3 point

[Mlarv]

Ok I really think I should know the answer, but I don't know for sure. I have a BX23S with the backhoe.

I am thinking I want to get a stump grinder to make a little side money and clean up a few stumps in my yard. I have been digging them out, and I am wondering if a stump grinder would work faster.

I had some really big Oaks cut down and next to my driveway, so I couldn't dig them out. A guy showed up with a Verneer self contained motorized stump grinder and made short work of them.

Ok now to my question. When looking at them I see some that use hydraulics to swing the head back and forth, and others you move the tractor back and forth.

Will the hydraulics that run the backhoe run the stump grinder? I fell they will, but I am just not 100% sure.

Thanks
Mike

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No you do not have enough GPM to run a stump grinder!

 

[NCL4701]

You might be able to run one of the stump grinders that runs off the PTO rather than running off hydraulics. There are a few manufacturers that make such.

Baumalight makes a series of PTO drive grinders on swing arms with hydraulic controls so you don’t have to move the tractor to grind the stump. They are pricier than those pictured above and I believe they require a tractor with significantly more mass than a BX.

For the type pictured above, your BX has enough HP. They are fixed behind the tractor and you move the tractor to grind the stump so HST is required. Does a BX have enough mass to grind a healthy hardwood stump without turning into a mechanical bull ride? That I don’t know for sure.

I have a Woodland Mills WG24.

Works well if you have the mass to hold onto it. There are several here with same or similar grinders. Maybe someone is running one on a BX?

 

[Mlarv]

No you do not have enough GPM to run a stump grinder!

The Titan I am looking at uses the PTO to drive the grinder, and the hydraulics to move it back and forth. It states it will work on anything form 20hp to 60hp cat 1 3 point.

I am just not sure if the backhoes hydraulics are what is used to power the cylinders to swing it.

3 Point woodchipper

 

[GreensvilleJay]

most 'tree guys' around here RENT stump grinders, for the day, bill the customers.
I figure it must be cheaper/easier than buying a machine.storing and maintaining it ??

in the OP case.... rent and grind customers stumps in the morning, go home, grind his off for 'free'.

 

[DustyRusty]

If you want to get into the stump grinding business, then buy a separate stump grinder that you can tow behind your car or truck. I have a Vermeer wood chipper and it tows behind my car and is totally self-contained so I can chip a lot of wood quickly. I have found some used Vermeer stump grinders in the $7000 range that are in good condition and will handle any stump that you come across, and I see this as a more viable situation than using the tractor to grind stumps if you are going to do it as a sideline. Even though it is one more machine to maintain, it is a lot more convenient to move from site to site and a lot faster than using a tractor. Buying the correct tool to do the job the first time is a lot more economical than picking the wrong tool only to find that it doesn't efficiently do the job.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sorry misread the first post,
But it still shouldn't be run on that tractor as you don't have the required HP to run it.
and it does require more GPM than you have avalible:

FYI: Stump grinders are really hard on equipment!

And with 6.2 GPM you don't have all of this GPM available to use, as the tractors other systems take up a bunch of it.

 

[Vigo]

Hydraulics to move a cylinder/cylinders back and forth will always ‘work’ as far as moving, but the flow rate determines how fast it will move. Most tractors will make 1700+psi with their onboard hydraulics so they will generally make plenty of force with the cylinders, especially if they dont really push/pull against any great resistance.

So yes your onboard hydraulics will swing a grinder head around just like they swing the backhoe and loader around. Its just a matter of speed, but since that job on a stumo grinder doesnt require a lot of force generated (compared to loader or backhoe) you’re probably far in excess of what you would need.

As far as pto hp when running any kind of a ‘blade’ or tool head the hp is not determining whether you can spin it at all, just how fast you can ‘feed it in’ to the work or feed the work into it. My 12hp b6100 will run a 48” bush hog or 54” finish mower just fine even though you wont find a 54” riding mower rated under ~25hp in the last decade. The only limitation is how fast i can travel while cutting. If it is super thick i have to go slow or limit the cut depth. But it works.

About the only limitation of pto hp vs an implement is if you have an extremely heavy rotating assembly on the implement and a very light rotating assembly on the tractor but only have an on/off switch for the pto, you may have to engage the pto at full rpm to avoid stalling the tractor with the sudden load of lurching the implement up to speed. If your pto runs on a clutch pedal you can ‘feather it’ to spin it up slowly. My old tractors have old school clutch-pedal pto engagement and if i dont mind the heat/wear on my clutch i can spin up pretty much anything with my <20hp. I just probably couldnt go very fast while using it..

 

[Jchonline]

That’s a very large mass you little machine needs to keep moving when it hits the wood. I would also be very skeptical it will do the work. That said, can you check out Tractor time with Tim on youtube and see what he was using with his grinders. I know he uses the JD 1 series a lot…but not sure about what he was using with the stump grinders.

 

[Willie1]

I have a Betstco FH-SG24 I use on my BX2370. Yes, it's heavy and I have to be careful using it. However, I've used it on some pretty large stumps with success. It CAN throw the tractor around and there is a learning curve to using it. In spite of that I was surprised at how well the BX handled it. As with any piece of equipment, seems like using it GENTLY is the key. There is a picture of it on the trailer in the "Show your tractor on your trailer" thread.

 

[Mlarv]

I will be looking into a standalone unit, the person that did my stumps said he might be willing to sell the grinder and trailer. I might give him a call and ask if I could go out a few time with him to learn how to use it correctly and maybe buy it. After watching a few too many YouTube videos of tractors and stump grinders I am rethinking taking my back hoe off and on so much.

 

[DustyRusty]

I will be looking into a standalone unit, the person that did my stumps said he might be willing to sell the grinder and trailer. I might give him a call and ask if I could go out a few time with him to learn how to use it correctly and maybe buy it. After watching a few too many YouTube videos of tractors and stump grinders I am rethinking taking my back hoe off and on so much.

Wise move you will not regret. Most machinery requires a learning curve, and if you have an experienced operator teaching you, that is the best way to learn with the least exposure to danger. When you buy the Vermeer, register it with the manufacturer, and they will send you new copies of all the manuals for free. When I purchased my chipper, a few weeks later came all the manuals with instructions to add them to the machine's manual holder for future reference. They do it to limit their liability and possible law suites.

 

[mikester]

No you do not have enough GPM to run a stump grinder!

I think the answer is Yes you could run it but you wouldn't be happy with the results!

 

[TheOldHokie]

Ok I really think I should know the answer, but I don't know for sure. I have a BX23S with the backhoe.

I am thinking I want to get a stump grinder to make a little side money and clean up a few stumps in my yard. I have been digging them out, and I am wondering if a stump grinder would work faster.

I had some really big Oaks cut down and next to my driveway, so I couldn't dig them out. A guy showed up with a Verneer self contained motorized stump grinder and made short work of them.

Ok now to my question. When looking at them I see some that use hydraulics to swing the head back and forth, and others you move the tractor back and forth.

Will the hydraulics that run the backhoe run the stump grinder? I fell they will, but I am just not 100% sure.

Thanks
Mike

I am not telling you it is a good or bad idea.but here is some real life comparative data for perspective:

The guy I pay to grind stumps has a Vermeer SC252 stump grinder with 16" wheel. It's pretty small but eats stumps like a starved beaver.

The SC 252 weighs 1050 pounds and has a 26HP @ 3600 RPM 2 cylinder Kohler Command gas engine. The hydraulic system produces 3 GPM.



Your BX23s weighs 2800 pounds with loader and backhoe. Subtract 800 (probably less ) for the hoe and add 600 for the grinder and you are triple the weight of the fully dressed Vermeer.. Your tractor produces 6 GPM hydraulic flow which is double the Vermeer and more than enough for the two angling cylinders on that little 3pt grinder. You would probably want to add a valve that allows you to operate it from the ground like the Vermeer.

The only real concern I can see is the size of the cutter wheel. The Vermeer is 16" and the Titan is 24". You may find your a little light on PTO torque for a wheel that size and need to feed the cutter wheel a little slower.

I now have a WG24 on my L3901. It has already paid for itself and Tom's Stump Grinding has lost a customer

Dan

 

[Vigo]

I just remembered at one point a found a video of a person using a 3pt stump grinder behind a large garden tractor that had a 540 pto (there were many that had them as optional) and that would be good context here.

Also found this one on a BX and showing what it can take before bogging! But it wont let me embed it for some reason.

Kubota BX stump grinder

youtube.com